By Michael K. Campbell
It’s no secret that desktop management is very costly. Especially in a day and age of increasing application complexity coupled with an increased dependence upon desktops. Therefore, Microsoft’s System Center Desktop Error Monitoring Lab provides a decent overview of a great way to increase IT efficiency by mitigating help desk costs.
In addition to outlining some of the major pain points (and cost centers) associated with desktop management and troubleshooting, the introductory labcast also does a great job of outlining some of the true impacts of the failure to accurately assess errors, their sources, and implications.
Of course, since this lab is geared towards showcasing how to use Microsoft’s Desktop Error Monitoring solution, there’s also some great information on how DEM works, along with some background information about its architecture.
TIP: One of the best things about DEM is that it doesn't require desktop agents in order to collect error reports - and the lab is really geared around showcasing how that works in conjunction with Group Policy.
A key component, or feature, of DEM is its ability to provide reporting and analytical features that help foster dynamic IT that by allowing admins to collect, analyze, and pro-actively correct common problems and issues within their desktop infrastructures.
Microsoft’s Desktop Error Monitoring solution also works in conjunction with a well-established knowledge base that administrators can use to help troubleshoot their desktop problems. The benefit of this approach, of course, means that admins are less likely to be stuck looking up KB articles, talking with vendors, or doing their own ‘sleuthing’ to get at solutions.
More importantly though, DEM also provides the ability to let administrators transmit selected error details to Microsoft, where Microsoft can help coordinate solutions with vendors, other end-users, and their own product teams – all in a spirit to help alleviate some of the costs associated with managing modern desktop infrastructures.
Once the lab establishes a background, or overview of what Desktop Error Monitoring provides, it then jumps into a brief overview of what you’ll deal with in the lab itself. The lab is well structured and getting a handle on what you’re doing doesn’t take long, thanks in part to the pre-lab overview and the great documentation, or background, information that accompanies the lab.
TIP: This lab contains lots of detailed information about what happens during application and system crashes - which provides a lot of detail on what kinds of things are captured in dump files and, subsequently, DEM.
During the lab, you’ll be busy creating a new Administrative Template (through the use of a specialized System Center wizard designed for use with DEM), and the incorporating it into your Group Policy.
From there, you’ll then look at modifying, and configuring policy objects to meet your needs and configure what kind of information, or error details, that you’d like to transmit to Microsoft.
All in all though, System Center Desktop Error Monitoring Lab provides a great overview of an easy way to become much more proactive with desktop management and does a great job of showing you the ropes on how to get set up and running with Desktop Error Monitoring.